Beddu Amang arrested after brief spell on the lam
Beddu Amang arrested after brief spell on the lam
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Police arrested former State Logistics Agency (Bulog) head Beddu
Amang on Sunday, just one day after he was declared a fugitive
from justice, and immediately started questioning him over his
role in a scam involving government livestock feed subsidies.
Beddu was apprehended as he was undergoing a medical
examination in the Sumarno VIP room at the Dr. Soekanto Police
Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, which was allowed to
continue until 8:45 p.m, Antara reported. He had registered for
the medical examination under his wife's name.
The questioning went ahead after doctors declared Beddu was
fit to undergo interrogation as a suspect at National Police
Headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo, South Jakarta.
Beddu failed to answer a police summons on Friday and
submitted a letter saying he needed a two-week rest due to ill
health.
Police put Beddu, who has to serve a two-year jail term in
another graft case, on their wanted list on Saturday after
investigators failed to find him at his residence in Kemang,
South Jakarta, on Friday.
Beddu was tightlipped as he completed his medical examination,
after which he was escorted to a waiting Kijang van which brought
him to National Police Headquarters.
It remained unclear why Beddu had not cooperated with the
police investigation, but his lawyer Djoko Pabowo Saebani told
reporters his client would cooperate with the police from now on
in the investigation into a graft case that caused Rp 841 billion
(US$99 million) in state losses.
Beddu's failure to turn up for police questioning had drawn
public criticism that law enforcers were too lenient in dealing
with suspects.
Legal analyst Hendardi had accused the former government
official of trying to evade justice so that he could continue
living his comfortable lifestyle.
"I think Beddu Amang is trying to avoid imprisonment, not just
avoid police investigation," he said.
Last year, the police moved too late to execute a judgment
sending businessman Samadikun Hartono to jail. Samadikun was
eventually found to have fled overseas.
Kemas Yahya Rahman, spokesman for the Attorney General's
Office (AGO), said the Attorney General's Office could not send
Beddu to jail until it received a copy of the Supreme Court
decision upholding the two year sentence handed down to Beddu for
his role in a land swap scam in 2001.
The Jakarta Prosecutor's Office's deputy chief for special
crimes, Marwan Effendi, said that his office had been informed by
the South Jakarta District Court via facsimile regarding the
Supreme Court's verdict.